1st WDW trip and so indecisive. Changed my reservation to OKW, now 2nd guessing it

[veginaz]

We are normally DL goers. We stay at the DLH or GCH. For our WDW trip I originally booked POP to save money. I got really worried about space and it being a value resort (3 adults 1 kid, and people visiting the room) I saw a great deal for OKW on hotels.com last night and canceled my pop for okw. Now that Im researching Im seeing lots of complaints about the size of the resort and the transportation taking a very long time. We will be at MK 2 days, Epcot 1 day, AK 1 day and HS 2 days. Do you have any feedback or suggestions? 7 nights at OKW ended up being $3222 for the 1 bed villa. Which i thought was a slammin deal. But Im new to WDW

 

[Olaf Myfrenzargay]

Time frame would help. Look at Dolphin tho if value is paramount.

 

[Marthasor]

If you typically stay at DLH and GCH, I think you will disappointed in how far away OKW is from the parks. If it's in the budget, I would suggest looking into a monorail resort (CR, GF and Poly) or an EP resort (BW, BC/YC). As PP mentioned, you could also price out Swan/Dolphin which aren't Disney resorts but are right next to YC and BWI and offer the EP resort location. Swan/Dolphin typically prices out less than WDW resorts but offer a deluxe hotel within walking distance to EP and DHS.

 

[swellman]

A bad day at WDW is still a pretty good day!

 

[Wood Nymph]

We are normally DL goers. We stay at the DLH or GCH. For our WDW trip I originally booked POP to save money. I got really worried about space and it being a value resort (3 adults 1 kid, and people visiting the room) I saw a great deal for OKW on hotels.com last night and canceled my pop for okw. Now that Im researching Im seeing lots of complaints about the size of the resort and the transportation taking a very long time. We will be at MK 2 days, Epcot 1 day, AK 1 day and HS 2 days. Do you have any feedback or suggestions?

We stayed at OKW and your room will be quite a bit larger than a room at POP. It will have a kitchenette that includes a real coffee pot, toaster, microwave and refrigerator. You will also get two queen beds and a balcony. So the room situation is much better at OKW.

The food options are very limited at OKW, so you may want to plan to eat breakfast in the room and the rest of the meals at the parks or Disney Springs. There is normally a boat to Disney Springs, but it isn't running during Covid restrictions.

The main pool at OKW has a great slide. It is a very nice pool. POP pools don't have a slide.

The bus for OKW has to travel around the resort, making five stops, but we found that it was very convenient and we never had to wait long for a bus. The bus at POP picks up at the main building, which means everyone has to walk there from their building and the buses can have long lines. I think OKW wins with the bus situation, too.

The only negative for OKW is the food options at the resort but otherwise, in my opinion, it beats POP.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I second Swalphin (make sure to add in the resort fees to your budget!). YC if you can get a deal. IMHO monorail resorts are rough right now because contemporary & Poly are under renovation and Grand Floridian desperately needs a renovation (after what I saw when I stayed there in Nov so I refuse to recommend that property right now). Because you normally stay GCH/DLH as a DL vet myself- I can’t imagine you will enjoy OKW simply due to the transportation situation. At Swalphin you have boat access or walking access to Epcot and DHS.

Transportation at WDW is a crazy time suck to your vacation. You can easily be 45+ mins trying to get a bus around opening- esp now with the COVID bus rules. I waited 45 mins in the middle of the afternoon for a bus back to CSR from MK last month- and there was only one couple waiting in front of me! Not a single bus arrived that whole time. To many normal WDW visitors this NBD as you learn overtime this happens with Disney transport. For DLR vets used to being in a park within 15 mins of leaving your hotel room it is a system shock on your first WDW trip.

 

[tzeitel]

Pop has better transportation, they have the skyliner that goes to Epcot and DHS.

I like OKW but for a first time at WDW it would not be my first choice. If you can do deluxe (and if you usually stay at GCH there should not be too much of a sticker shock) I would do Yacht & (or) Beach. Boardwalk is good. Real first choice for me would be Poly but their monorail is down right now.

If on a budget I would go back to Pop. I like Pop, it's fun, never had issues with transportation.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Pop has better transportation, they have the skyliner that goes to Epcot and DHS.

I like OKW but for a first time at WDW it would not be my first choice. If you can do deluxe (and if you usually stay at GCH there should not be too much of a sticker shock) I would do Yacht & (or) Beach. Boardwalk is good. Real first choice for me would be Poly but their monorail is down right now.

If on a budget I would go back to Pop. I like Pop, it's fun, never had issues with transportation.

Timing also matters. Idk when OP is looking but the only non-DVC EP resort open now is YC. BC opens early summer. BWI is not bookable as it has no opening date.

If BC is open it’s my fav EP resort. Rooms feel older than YC as BC was renovated pre-raised beds, hard floors, etc. but the walking to EP is sweeeet, especially if you’re hitting it up for dinners!

 

[veginaz]

Time frame would help. Look at Dolphin tho if value is paramount.

Our trip is mid april. For us the Dolphin was pretty pricey since they charge a PP fee and we need ME transport from the airport, I will check again the fees PP Edit: so not as expensive as I remember, which is good. I think the no shuttle from airport might make this one still a no.

 

[veginaz]

I second Swalphin (make sure to add in the resort fees to your budget!). YC if you can get a deal. IMHO monorail resorts are rough right now because contemporary & Poly are under renovation and Grand Floridian desperately needs a renovation (after what I saw when I stayed there in Nov so I refuse to recommend that property right now). Because you normally stay GCH/DLH as a DL vet myself- I can’t imagine you will enjoy OKW simply due to the transportation situation. At Swalphin you have boat access or walking access to Epcot and DHS.

Transportation at WDW is a crazy time suck to your vacation. You can easily be 45+ mins trying to get a bus around opening- esp now with the COVID bus rules. I waited 45 mins in the middle of the afternoon for a bus back to CSR from MK last month- and there was only one couple waiting in front of me! Not a single bus arrived that whole time. To many normal WDW visitors this NBD as you learn overtime this happens with Disney transport. For DLR vets used to being in a park within 15 mins of leaving your hotel room it is a system shock on your first WDW trip.

I was searching for a transport map thinking it would make things more clear for me, nope it just made me more confused. With limited park hours as of now I really dont want spend and hour to get to the parks. I almost booked Contemporary but then I saw the monorail refurb.

 

[veginaz]

We stayed at OKW and your room will be quite a bit larger than a room at POP. It will have a kitchenette that includes a real coffee pot, toaster, microwave and refrigerator. You will also get two queen beds and a balcony. So the room situation is much better at OKW.

The food options are very limited at OKW, so you may want to plan to eat breakfast in the room and the rest of the meals at the parks or Disney Springs. There is normally a boat to Disney Springs, but it isn't running during Covid restrictions.

The main pool at OKW has a great slide. It is a very nice pool. POP pools don't have a slide.

The bus for OKW has to travel around the resort, making five stops, but we found that it was very convenient and we never had to wait long for a bus. The bus at POP picks up at the main building, which means everyone has to walk there from their building and the buses can have long lines. I think OKW wins with the bus situation, too.

The only negative for OKW is the food options at the resort but otherwise, in my opinion, it beats POP.

We will likely eat inside the parks mostly. If I keep the reservation at OKW I plan to have some food delivered to make sandwiches etc.

 

[veginaz]

7 nights at OKW ended up being $3222 for the 1 bed villa. I should have included that. We could probably go up 3400 but more than that is pushing it for us.

 

[Olaf Myfrenzargay]

I suggest renting DVC points, for that you can probably still get a 1 BR standard view villa at BWV or the standard view 1 BRs at AKL, which is a much better overall resort, even given the restaurant closures since you have the animals and ease of location at least to Animal Kingdom.

also consider a split stay between the two. Nothing against OKW but if getting to the parks is important, you’re gonna have frustrations.

 

[gottalovepluto]

7 nights at OKW ended up being $3222 for the 1 bed villa. I should have included that. We could probably go up 3400 but more than that is pushing it for us.

Never push yourself beyond comfort budget wise for sure. Makes a trip suck that way. But you need to accept the transport situation could suck an hour from your morning or evening or whenever you’re using it. Just accept it, plan for it. To prevent it from sucking from your morning park time be at the bus stop well before park opening (Research the DIS thread on OKW so you know people’s recent experiences, I’d say an hour before opening as a guide for planning but really need to know recent OKW bus experiences for good planning) so you’re first in the bus line when buses start rolling.

Alternatively rent a car. Many people are renting cars to avoid the bus situation and because some resorts have such lousy food options. You will have to pay for parking at the hotel but theme park parking will be free. OKW used to have a boat to Disney Springs which would help with food options but I don’t think that’s back yet?

 

[JenBush]

How much time are you planning on spending in your room? If you plan on spending most of your time in the parks I’d go back to Pop. I like that pop has a single bus hub and the skyliner for transportation. As the others mentioned the Swan/Dolphin might also be a great option just
Make sure you consider the resort fee when comparing the price of the Swan/Dolphin to Disney resorts.

 

[Marthasor]

Our trip is mid april. For us the Dolphin was pretty pricey since they charge a PP fee and we need ME transport from the airport, I will check again the fees PP Edit: so not as expensive as I remember, which is good. I think the no shuttle from airport might make this one still a no.

I would recommend pricing out some private car services to and from the airport. I think you may find Swan/Dolphin plus a car service will still price out less than OKW. Also, with 3 adults and a child, you may want to look at the Swan instead of the Dolphin as the Dolphin has double beds, whereas the Swan has queens.

 

[Karl66]

Message deleted

 

[scooz2]

OKW is great. The busing isn't an issue if you figure out some tricks. Last time we went we were near 2 stops. One was the lobby and one was near our building. We found that getting on in morning at lobby was best bc it was one of the last "in resort" stops. Then coming home, we got off at our building because it was and earlier stop than lobby.

The quality of room, amenities, look of resort and amount of pools far outweigh anything you'd find at the POP resorts. OKW also has a boat ride to Downtown Disney, which is fun to do! It's closest to DD and AK.

I've stayed at OKW, SS, Contemp, AKL and Boardwalk and I would recommend any of these!!!

 

[Tigerlulu]

Def check out swan/dolphin! One of the boardwalk area resorts and a much better value. We are big fans.

 

[WawaCoffee]

I'm going to go against the grain here and recommend you stick with OKW, since this will be your first time on WDW property. Make it a memorable experience. There is nothing wrong with Pop, but the value resorts simply don't compare to the DVC resorts. Unless you plan on spending none of your time hanging out at your resort, then yes, Pop is a better choice. However, even if you're contemplating a few hours at the pool one or two days, I'd go OKW. You'll be there 7 nights, and fatigue may settle in, so the amenities will be available to you.

Also, the 1 Bedroom Villa at OKW is very spacious. You will also have a full kitchen and washer & dryer if that matters to you. You can actually save quite a bit of money on food by ordering groceries and stocking the fridge. So keep that in mind when budgeting. Eating in the parks adds up very quickly.

I promise I'm trying to avoid all bias in light of my upcoming stay at OKW.